The Devil Is a Gentleman by J. L. Murray

said.
    “No one was in it,” he said.
    “What if there had been?” I said. “What if his wife and daughter had been there?”
    “The women are smart,” he said. “They know when things are dangerous. I knew the wife would be far away.”
    “So, what about Sasha?” I said. “What did he do?”
    He laughed, but it turned into a cough, and then a near-sob. “Sasha thought he was working with them. Like an equal. He could not have been more wrong. When he was gone they were laughing at him. They didn’t hide it. But Sasha was getting stronger. Stronger than they ever imagined. The Blood, they get scared. Scared he would kill them all. Scared he would open up Hell and let them all fall in. They wanted me to make him disappear. But you cannot do that to a man like Alexei Slobodian. He does not disappear easy, yeah?” He ground out his burning butt with the heel of his boot. He closed his eyes, as if remembering. “I arranged the arrest,” he said softly. “The Blood gave him one last job. Job only he could do. Impossible job. Summon Abaddon, the unsummonable demon. And while he was vulnerable, I arranged the arrest. I had a man in the Police who worked for me. He made it all happen.”
    “Mike Shippley,” I said. Shipp had been Eli’s partner and his friend. He also set Eli and me up. It had been Naz that told me he was dirty.
    “Yes. All working smoothly until your friend got mixed into this.”
    “Eli was Shipp’s partner,” I said. “He could have been killed.”
    “Yes,” said Naz. “That is what Shipp said, too. He wanted out.”
    “So he disappeared, too,” I said. “He didn’t run away, did he? You took care of him.”
    “Not personally, of course,” said Naz. “My boys, they take care of it.”
    “So when Sasha escaped — ”
    “Now you see why I was coward,” said Naz. “It was shame. I am nothing. Sasha is dead because of me. He loved me like a brother, and I threw him away for a pile of money.”
    “Sasha isn’t dead,” I said.
    “What?” said Naz. “Of course he’s dead.”
    “No,” I said. “He’s not. He’s in Hell, but I have it on good authority that he’s alive. And doing quite well, I’m guessing.”
    Naz shook his head. “Of course,” he said. He smiled. “You see, Nikita, you always surprise me. You should have worked with us. I told Sasha so much, even when you were little girl. You were always thinking. And you were a fighter, I could see it in you.”
    “I would never work for you,” I said.
    “Not for me,” he said. “You should have been a leader. You would never have gotten involved with people like this. The Blood. Is dishonorable.”
    “I’m not a leader,” I said.
    He raised an eyebrow. “No?” he said. He pointed vaguely towards the front door. “This big man, he follows you, no questions. He waits outside for you while you do business with me. Many would follow you if you only asked them to. I am told even the dead follow you.”
    “Who told you that?” I said.
    His face lost its color. “Is not important.”
    “It’s important to me.”
    He looked at me solemnly. “The Morrigan,” he said. He shuddered. “She tells The Blood what to do. I met her only once, and I had to wear blindfold. I never want to hear that voice again.”
    “Frank Bradley mentioned her,” I said. “He said he couldn’t save her.”
    “The Morrigan is not one to be saved,” said Naz. “She is to be feared.”
    “What about the angelwine?” I said. “What do The Blood have to do with that?”
    “The Blood is everything to do with the angelwine,” said Naz. “Everything. They have turned themselves into monsters. You know what it is, don’t you, Nikita?” he said, putting another cigarette in his mouth. “I can see it in your eyes that you know.”
    “Yes,” I said softly. “I know.”
    He lit his cigarette with a silver lighter and inhaled, cocking his head at me. “You are not who you pretend to be.”
    “Don’t say that,” I